High School Boys

Nike/US Lacrosse Midwest Region Report

Top Performers

James McFarland, Glenbrook North (Ill.)

McFarland made an impact early against Evanston Township (Ill.),
fighting his way to the front of the cage, as sticks clicked around
him, to put one past the goaltender. He finished the game with four
goals and two assists, showing his skills as a tough attacker and
an elite passer, with a couple of strong feeds from behind the net.
"James has gotten better every year," Glenbrook North coach Justin
Georgacakis said. "He's got tremendous skills. He loves the game.
He works hard at it, and it shows. James has really worked on his
speed and gotten quicker."

Ryan Maksimovic, Glenbrook North (Ill.)

Maksimovic scored many times — and in many different ways
— against Evanston, pelting the Wildkits for five goals. His
first goal, in which he cranked out a shot as he dove in front of
the cage like the hockey great Bobby Orr, may well have been his
most impressive, but he also fired in a remarkable goal from the
11-yard line, from well wide of the net. With the cage perched on
the 10-yard line, he had basically no angle to work with, and still
managed to put it in. "He's pretty much in my mind one of the top
attackmen in the state," Georgacakis said. "Ryan is just so
creative and shifty."

Tommy Hirsch, Mason (Ohio)

Hirsch, the Comets' leading scorer in 2012, has picked up right
where he left off in 2013. He's a big part of why the Comets remain
undefeated, with 24 goals and 13 assists heading into Mason's
victory over Upper Arlington. Hirsch is hardly the only big scorer
on his team. Declan O'Grady, Austin Spears and Adam Osika all had
15-plus goals as well heading into their matchup with the Golden
Bears. But Hirsch has led the way.

Games to Watch

Upper Arlington (Ohio) at Dublin Jerome (Ohio) –
April 30

The Celtics had three chances to take down an elite Buckeye
State foe. First a road contest at Archbishop Moeller (Ohio) turned
into a double-overtime loss. Then a road contest at Worthington
Kilbourne (Ohio) saw a second straight six-goal performance and a
second straight loss. A chance to upset neighboring Brother Rice
(Mich.) at home fell well short. Fortunately for the Celtics a win
over Upper Arlington (Ohio) would make a lot of noise.

Mason (Ohio) at Carmel (Ind.) – May 3

Talk about two teams potentially heading in different
directions. You have the upstart Comets turning from a contender
into a power. They will potentially bring an undefeated mark into
their matchup with the Greyhounds. Then, you have a recent
powerhouse in Carmel, coming off a one-loss campaign with three
losses already this season. For both teams, they'll face Culver
Academy (Ind.) next so there will be plenty of pressure on both the
Comets and the Greyhounds to get the win and pick up some momentum
in advance of their upset bid of the Eagles.

1. Culver Academy (Ind.), 12-2

The Eagles did an admirable job against Canada's best, falling
by five to The Hill Academy (Canada). They saved their best for
their past two games, however, downing a usually competitive
Louisville St. Xavier (Ky.) team 25-1 and holding off New Trier
(Ill.) by five goals. The Eagles' 24-point margin of victory
against the Tigers was equivalent to the total margin of defeat in
Louisville St. Xavier's previous four losses combined. Culver
Academy has a few tough challenges remaining. Its final four
regular-season foes have a combined record of 36-6.

2. Brother Rice (Mich.), 9-2

The Warriors have rebounded well from a rough three-game stretch
that featured their only two losses of the season, a lopsided loss
to Culver Academy (Ind.) and a close loss to The Hill Academy
(Canada). Still, an offense that exploded early in the season has
scored just nine goals apiece against New Trier (Ill.), Culver
Academy and Hill Academy. And that loss to an Eagles team they
played close last season remains concerning.

3. Mason (Ohio), 9-0

Three games into their long grueling mid-season road trip, the
Comets — and their undefeated mark — are still alive
and kicking. Contests at Cincinnati St. Xavier (Ohio), which
recently defeated Worthington Kilbourne (Ohio); Hudson (Ohio),
which has just one loss this season; and Upper Arlington (Ohio)
failed to destroy the Comets' pursuit of perfection, though Upper
Arlington came close. If Mason can somehow reel off wins over
Mariemont (Ohio), Carmel (Ind.) and Culver Academy (Ind.) in a
four-day stretch, the Comets might well soar to the top of these
rankings.

4. New Trier (Ill.), 8-2

The traditional Land of Lincoln powerhouse has recovered well
from a surprising .500 finish in 2012. The Trevians have already
dispatched of Carmel (Ind.) and Loyola Academy (Ill.) this season,
and they competed decently against Brother Rice (Mich.) and Culver
Academy (Ind.). In fact, New Trier came as close as any Midwest
team has to beating Culver Academy this season. Their hardest foes
now in the rearview mirror, the Trevians turn inward to face five
teams from the state of Illinois.

5. Loyola Academy (Ill.), 8-2

The Ramblers still face a deadly end-of-season schedule. Their
final four foes — Lyons Township (Ill.), Glenbrook North
(Ill.), Culver Academy (Ind.) and Libertyville (Ill.) — have
posted a combined record of 43-8 this season. Still, if any team
can handle the pressure, it's Loyola Academy, led by its powerful
defense. With the exception of their game against West Genesee
(N.Y.), the Ramblers have yet to surrender greater than six goals
in a game this season. Indeed, in those nine games, the Ramblers
have surrendered just 25 goals, fewer than three scores a game. And
holding New Trier to six goals certainly served notice as the
postseason draws near.

6. Cathedral (Ind.), 10-1

Cathedral has embarked on a remarkable turnaround campaign. Last
season against Noblesville (Ind.), the Irish fell 13-1. This
season, they won 18-1. Last season against Zionsville (Ind.), they
split the season series, losing the opener 15-11. This season they
won 9-5. Then, most impressive of all, they nearly doubled up on
Carmel (Ind.) on the road, winning 11-6. Thus far, the Irish have
only one blemish, a close loss to a very good Louisville Trinity
(Ky.) team — on the road.

7. Eden Prairie (Minn.), 5-0

The Eagles couldn't quite bring home a state title in 2012, but
they sure seem bent on avenging that failure in 2013. They've
absolutely crushed their first five foes — including decent
teams in Edina (Minn.), Benilde-St. Margaret (Minn.) and Minnetonka
(Minn.). In fact, no team has come within 10 goals of Eden Prairie
thus far. The Eagles have already avenged two of their losses from
last season. Revenge against Eastview, however, will have to wait
until May 23.

8. Carmel (Ind.), 11-3

There was concern the Greyhounds' back-loaded schedule would
catch up to them. It has, and even more than expected. Getting held
to a single goal by Loyola Academy (Ill.) was tough. Losing to the
same Cathedral (Ind.) team that Carmel had tripled up on the
previous season was possibly worse. And this is not a good time for
the Greyhounds to fall on hard times, with Mason (Ohio) and Culver
Academy (Ind.) lurking in the not-so-distant future. For a team
that lost just one game all of last season, how Carmel responds to
its recent difficulties will be interesting to watch.

9. Glenbrook North (Ill.), 10-1

It's getting difficult to ignore Glenbrook North. The Spartans
aren't going to awe anyone with their resume — they haven't
played the same type of out-of-state opposition that rivals New
Trier and Loyola Academy have — but they did knock off
Libertyville (Ill.) by four goals and led New Trier heading into
the fourth quarter. Contests against Loyola Academy, Saint Viator
(Ill.) and Lake Forest (Ill.) to end the regular season will give
an sense of Glenbrook North's elite status.

10. Dublin Jerome (Ohio), 7-3

Last season's 21-1 campaign was going to be hard to duplicate.
The Buckeye State is too loaded to allow for easy dominance. Sure,
the Celtics' defense has been dominant at times —
surrendering just 26 goals combined over their seven wins this
season, less than four per victory. But, a grueling road trip
through Archbishop Moeller (Ohio) and Worthington Kilbourne (Ohio)
led to Dublin Jerome's first two losses of the season. Then Brother
Rice (Mich.) finished them off with a 16-10 pummeling. The Celtics
responded well with an easy victory over University Detroit Jesuit
(Mich.) and have a shot at a resume-building win when Upper
Arlington visits on April 30.

News and Notes

Could This Be The Year?

Glenbrook North's defense is on the offensive this season.

The Spartans use the lacrosse equivalent of a full-court press
to make the simple act of crossing the timeline a pain for opposing
teams. Playing on the artificial turf at Memorial Stadium in
Evanston, Illinois, Glenbrook North's defenders strayed beyond the
hashmarks to the field numbers, continuously pushing Evanston back.
It delighted coach Justin Georgacakis to be sure, who credited the
work of juniors Billy Mutchnik and Paolo Manalo and Matthew
Needham.

"It's a mentality that these guys have," Georgacakis said.
"We've tried to do that every year for the last five years. We've
had one or two guys. These guys, they get it. It's impressive. It's
a warm feeling that the defense plays that aggressive. We tell them
that if we get beat, we get beat, but let's get beat being
aggressive. Let's not sit back on our heels and let them attack us.
They get it."

Their hard work has produced results. Whether it was senior
Justin Rumoro streaking across midfield to pick up a rare clean
pick and then feeding it to junior Ryan Maksimovic for a goal, or
the Wildkits resorting to shots from 20 yards out, the Spartans
were able to affect the game. They ultimately surrendered just two
goals and held Evanston off the scoreboard for the opening 16:09 to
storm out to an early 5-0 lead.

With their current defensive prowess, the Spartans are off to an
impressive 10-1 start. They've surrendered single-digit goals in
all but one game this season, and managed to challenge New Trier on
the road, even taking a lead into the fourth quarter before falling
to the Trevians 9-8. It's the type of road that could lead to a
state championship, but Georgacakis isn't looking there yet.

"We try not to take a look at the big picture," Georgacakis
said. "We try to keep it small and we try to keep our guys
lighthearted. We try to enjoy the moment. We try not to think about
final scores and all of that stuff. We take it one quarter at a
time."

Of course, that loss to New Trier points to one area that still
needs improvement:

"We just got to continue to make ourselves play those games
completely through clean," Georgacakis said. "Their guys just had a
little bit more composure than us. They never lost control and
started forcing things, and they made plays at the end of the game
that we just didn't."

For now, however, Georgacakis is just enjoying the ride —
and it's not just the wins that he has enjoyed, it's the practices
and every moment he has had with his team.

"These guys have a tremendous amount of heart," Georgacakis
said. "It's really fun to watch them play and watch them practice.
It's been very enjoyable. The wins and all of that stuff, that's
set aside, it's a good group that comes out and plays every
game."

Note: The Nike/US Lacrosse Regional rankings will not
necessarily reflect the same order as the Nike/US Lacrosse National
Top 25 poll, which is voted on by US Lacrosse area representatives
and Lacrosse Magazine contributors, who compile the regional
rankings.